I love eating curried goat whenever I travel to Jamaica or the Carribean area. Yesterday when I went to a farmers market, I came across some goat meat and decided that I would try my luck at making some curried goat. I know what I like as it relates to spices and there are different variations when I researched recipes. As usual, I modified several recipes and then added my own twist to tailor the flavor for my personal tastes.
I discovered that most of the recipes suggested marinating the meat for several hours or overnight with spices and garlic. I liked one simple marinade which suggested a fourth cup of vinegar, a fourth cup of soy sauce and some fresh garlic. I know that the vinegar should help to tenderize the meat.
I also read and watched videos where some chefs always cut the fat and skin away from the goat meat. Others leave it on and suggest that the meat will have to cook longer.
My goat meat came on the bone, and was very lean, so I didn't remove the little bit of skin and membrane that was still present.
I marinated the goat meat over night in the refrigerator. This morning, I seared the goat meat from the marinade after patting it dry in about a tablespoon of coconut oil. The recipe suggested a vegetable oil but I wanted to use the coconut oil.
After I removed the seared goat meat from the skillet, I added chopped onions, celery and garlic to the skillet and cooked them until they were translucent. I added a can of tomato sauce, two cups of boiling water, and two teaspoons of "Better Than Bouillon Roasted Beef Base" because one recipe called for 2 cups of beef broth.
I cooked this mixture for 40 minutes on a low simmer and then added some more spices. I added two large bay leaves, a tablespoon of grated fresh ginger root, a tablespoon of smoked paprika, about four tablespoons of curry powder, one tablespoon of tumeric, five allspice berries, and one large jalapeno pepper which included the seeds. Scotch bonnet peppers were suggested in a couple of recipes but they are too hot for me most of the time because I cannot judge how hot the dish will turn out.
I have been cooking this curried goat for a couple of hours, but the meat is not as tender as I would like for it to be. I have some large chopped carrots and potatoes ready to be added to the stew once the meat is tender. I also plan to serve this stew with some brown rice. I tasted the dish a few minutes ago and it is absolutely delicious! If I let it cook for another 40 minutes, then the meat should be tender enough to fall from the bones.
I own a pressure cooker which I could have used to make the process go faster, but I wanted to first try my luck using more conventional measures first. I have a feeling that I will be cooking this dish more often.
Bon Appetit!